For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 23, 2003

Remarks by the President at United States Reception
American Museum of Natural History
New York, New York

8:47 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Unless
you don't have a chair. (Laughter.) For the sake of world harmony, I
will give a short speech. (Laughter.) And then we can all go to bed.
(Laughter.) First, I want to thank the American Museum of Natural
History for their wonderful hospitality. We've got trustees here and
the leadership of this fantastic place. It's such a wonderful
opportunity for Laura and me and our delegation to show off one of the
really fantastic landmarks of New York City. So, on behalf of our
delegation, thanks for your wonderful hospitality. It's a beautiful
place to have a wonderful reception. (Applause.)

Laura and I and the Secretary are honored to welcome the Presidents
and Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers and U.N. ambassadors and
anybody else who managed to sneak in tonight. (Laughter.) We're glad
you're here. It's been a fantastic reception for us, and thank you for
coming.

I really want to say quickly a word about Kofi Annan. I admire his
decency and his vision and his compassion for our fellow human beings.
He's a great leader of the United Nations and we're proud to call him
friend. (Applause.)

Somebody whispered in my ear that Mayor Bloomberg is here -- he
is the Mayor of New York City. (Applause.) Michael is the mayor of a
great city. On September the 11th, this nation saw the remarkable
spirit of the people who live in this city. We'll always remember how
our fellow citizens who happen to be New Yorkers instantly rallied to
help their neighbors in need. New York's famous skyline was wounded,
but its spirit remained steadfast.

In pursuing the terrorists we honor the memory of the fallen, and
we defend civilization itself. I want all the world leaders to
remember that. In working to alleviate poverty, disease and human
suffering, we spread hope to millions, and we undermine the ideologies
of resentment and hate and terror. The United Nations plays a vital
role in all these efforts, and all our nations have a duty to advance
its founding principles of tolerance and freedom and human rights.

A wing of this building is named for Theodore Roosevelt. He was
one of my predecessors. He was a warrior for peace who faced the world
without illusions. And I want to quote what he said. He said, "If we
are to be a really great people, we must strive in good faith to play a
great part in the world. We cannot avoid meeting great issues. All
that we can determine for ourselves is whether we shall meet them well
or ill."

He was speaking for Americans, but his words are true of every
people in the world today. We're meeting great issues of security and
compassion, and we must, and we will, meet them well.